Three Worlds Apart

Chapter XXIII, Amelia

Some fathers give their daughters money. Others drive them to the mall. Others buy them gifts.

Mine gives me scars.

He doesn't even ask me questions anymore. He just cuts me and expects me to eventually talk. What he doesn't know is that I'll never talk. If he can't find Dawson then I'm sure as hell not going to help him.

But where is Dawson? Where is Alex? Is Kriss here or is Ashlynn really alive? Why does my life have to be so complicated? Why couldn't I have been born a mortal?

No.

I don't want that. If I'd been born a mortal I never would become the girl Dawson fell in love with. I would most likely never met him. I might not have been born in Finland, I would have had a different family. I wouldn't have killed all those people.

Maybe it would be better for everyone if I had never been born at all. Ashton might not have left Mom, Ashlynn would have a good father, Kriss and Alex would stay protected in town.

And Dawson.

Dawson wouldn't have fallen for a girl whose world wouldn't hesitate to kill him if he got in the way.

My wonderful, kind, gentle Dawson would never have his life put in danger. He would live a safe and happy life with some other girl. A girl who couldn't control fire or water or air or earth.

He deserves to have a girl who is everything I'm not. He deserves to be safe. I can't give him safety. If I ever get out of here and get to live my life I can never be sure of his protection.

Today my father comes in without his torture devices, he sits down in a chair in front of me.

"Okay," He says, "I am going to tell you some things and you had better reward me with the information that I want to know." I roll my eyes and don't answer.

"Element children are not the only powerful people in the world," He begins, "Every year two boys and two girls are chosen, one boy and girl are claimed by the light and the other two the dark. They become their sons and daughters." I try not to look too interested even though this is amazing, this is important.

"That's what most of my followers are, there are more sons and daughters of the light and dark than element children." Ashton looks at me, "You are a daughter of the light and dark, this is very rare. The year you were born you were chosen by the light and the dark, that's why you can control lightning it's a gift from the light. It's also why you, me and your sister are still alive." He let's the words sink in.

Ashlynn  is alive.

Evelina wasn't lying to me. Ashlynn is alive.

"Sons and daughters of the dark and pass from one shadow to another, you brought the three of us here. Thank you for that by the way." He stops talking again as if to let me think over his words.

"But Ashlynn is dead." I say, "You killed her."

Ashton rolls his eyes, "Our family has always been given extra powers, I am a son of the light, Ashlynn is a daughter of the dark. When I hit her with that bolt of lightning she created a vortex that absorbed most of it, she only got knocked out." 

That's it. I have a reason to escape. I have to rescue Ashlynn.

"Now you know what you are, you know where these new powers came from and know you will tell me where Dawson is." He's breathing hard and I'm trying not to laugh. As if I'd tell my shitty father where to find Dawson.

"No." I say, "You can torture me until I die and still you will never know where he is." I don't know where Dawson is so that also helps but I know he's safe.

My father pulls a dagger from the inside of his jacket, shit of course he was hiding one.

"Fine." He says.

His dagger burns across my arms, legs, face, stomach and even some shallow ones on my neck.

I think at some point he has me turned over and he slashes my back.

My last thought before I lose consciousness is, how will Dawson recognize me if he ever sees me again?

Then everything goes black.

***

I open my eyes, my body wracked with pain.

Evelina is cleaning and bandaging my legs. I can see so much blood on the floor, I don't mind though. I'd much rather that be my blood than Dawson's.

When I meet her eyes Evelina bites her lip. I must look terrible, cut and bloody.

I can feel that my neck is heavily bandaged as are my wrists, maybe Evelina does care even a little if I live. From what I can tell only a few slashes on my face, arms and legs still bleed. Everything else has been bandaged or has stopped bleeding.

"Thank you." I say, my voice is low and hoarse. I sound like shit.

Evelina appears to bite her lip harder. She glances to wards the door before speaking to me.

"He's getting impatient, he's not gong to hold off his threats for much longer." She whispers. I shrug, so what?

"Amelia, he has your sister." That sentence makes me freeze, not that I can move around much because I'm belted to a freaking board.

That's right, that piece of shit does have my sister. He's going to use her, hurt her.

I feel tears fill my eyes, "You think I don't know that?" I ask, "It's all I can think about, but who do I choose? My sister or my boyfriend? How can I be asked to decide which I want tortured? I love them both, when they hurt I hurt." I feel the tears trickling down my face, they sting the gashes put there by my father.

"How do you know you love them?" I'm surprised by Evelina's question. Isn't there anyone she loves? She mentioned someone named Samuel once, does she love him?

"I don't know," I tell her honestly, "I just know that if they are taken from my life forever I will never be whole again, part of me will be gone. I just know that they are the most important people in my life."

I squint at Evelina, she has this strange look on her face like my words don't make sense to her.

"Don't you love anyone?" I ask.

Evelina shakes her head, "There's no one left that I could love, my parents died years ago." She looks down at her boots, "We aren't encouraged to love." Her last sentence makes me feel suddenly very sorry for all the people here, what has my father taken from them?

"What's it like?" Evelina asks, "Being in love?" Now that question almost stumps me.

"It's the best and worst feeling in the world," I tell her, "Every minute you live you're scared you will lose it." Love is something too big for words, I don't know how to describe it right.

Evelina nods, "That's all I need to know," She marches across the room to wash her hands.

"You're going to get out of here, you're going to see your Dawson again and Ashlynn too." Her face is set in a hard line and I hardly dare to breathe.

"How?" I ask her.

"I'm going to help you."